God called Abraham to leave his hometown and go to another country. The direction was clear, but it was a journey with few if any details sketched out.
Moses wanted to help his enslaved fellow Jews, but he acted violently and prematurely. He was sent on a cool down period which lasted for decades. But then God appeared to him and called him on a defined mission: Freedom! Again, it involved a journey, but little did he and the others know that it would take 40 years. The mission was clear, but it was not a detailed five-year strategic plan that steered them. God guided Moses and the people of Israel on their long journey. They repeatedly had to problem solve as they faced new issues and entered uncharted territories.
Called to a mission with no plan?
There’s a long list of people in the Old Testament who God called to a mission, but they were not given a plan. They tended to doubt their ability to fulfill their roles and missions. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks observes about Moses and others:
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” said Moses to God. “And how can I possibly get the Israelites out of Egypt?” Ex. 3:11 … “…people who turn out to be the most worthy are the ones who deny they are worthy at all. The Prophet Isaiah, when charged with his mission, said, ‘I am a man of unclean lips’ (Is. 6:5). Jeremiah said, ‘I cannot speak, for I am a child’ (Jer. 1:6). David, Israel’s greatest king, echoed Moses’ words, ‘Who am I?’ (2 Samuel 7:18). Jonah, sent on a mission by God, tried to run away.
They were people who doubted their own abilities. There were times when they felt like giving up. Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah and Jonah reached points of such despair that they prayed to die. … It is almost as if a sense of smallness is a sign of greatness.“ [1]
Caught between a rock and a hard place
Moses had left the royal court and he was no longer one of them. And his people of birth initially rejected him as a leader. Now he was to talk to two groups which didn’t trust him, and he really wasn’t deeply connected with either one. And the demands Moses presented to Pharaoh did not reveal a comprehensive plan.
We may sometimes feel like Moses, caught between a rock and a hard place, pursuing business with a mission. Not quite accepted by the church, and not fully understood by the business community. At times it may not be easy to convey our mission, as not everything can be quantified and put in a strategic plan. Also, things may progress a lot slower than we anticipate.
It is also worth noting that encounters with God were followed by a mission, people were given an assignment. It was not just a moment of bliss for their own edification. Rather, it often meant hardships coming up, and a life with many unknowns. They were to be true to God and their God-given mission, but they didn’t have a detailed plan, nor could they fully comprehend the implications of the journeys they started.
Finding God in unexpected places
There were often surprises along the way, and they needed to change their understanding of God’s modus operandi.
When Jesus was born, there were three wise men (three according to tradition) who saw a star, and they set out to find a newborn king.[2] The journey took them to a royal palace, but the newborn king wasn’t there, but rather in a lowly place. He had only been recognized, up to that point, by some shepherds, the lowest of low – socioeconomically speaking. Surprise!
God may not show up where we expect it, and sometimes we are too impressed by titles and seek out influential leaders, only to realize that God isn’t there. But the wise men followed through with their mission, and were willing to change plans. If they had not, they would have missed one of the biggest turning points in the history of mankind.[3] As we seek God, as we are on our mission – which may be business as mission – we should expect the unexpected. We should be ready to leave the palaces, the rich and influential, to be with the least, the lost and the lowliest. God may be right there!
Theology grounded in real life, real business and real people
The apostle Paul was also given a mission after an encounter with the risen Christ. After a three-year period to regroup he set out on a ‘to-all-peoples-mission’. He stayed mission true, and it was a life with on-going journeys and changing plans. Paul is one of the most influential theologians ever, but his theology was not developed in isolation as lofty metaphysical theories. No, it grew out of his divine encounter, his sense of mission, and dealing with real life issues, also as unplanned matters arose.
“Theology isn’t an exercise in conceptual weightlessness; it does not defy the law of gravity. It is grounded in lived reality.” [4]
Theology of work and business must be grounded in real life, real business and real people, while recognizing a plethora of expressions in different cultures and industries. To that end BAM Global has since 2002 engaged many hundreds of theologians and business people (and others) in global conversations about business as part of God’s metanarrative.[5] We do theology with a mission, to bring shalom to a broken market, to shape our companies for God and the common good – among all peoples and nations.
Many see Paul’s letter to the church in Rome as his foremost theological treatise. However, the epistle is framed by his mission to make Christ known among all peoples.[6] Thus, his hope was to go to Rome, fellowship with the church there, with an expectation that they would underwrite his mission to Spain. The mission was clear, but plans changed since so many things were beyond his control. As it is for us.[7]
Go with God – God goes with you
But in all these uncertainties and frailties, we can trust God and he will be with us. Rabbi Sacks writes about what God told Moses when he questioned being summoned to an incredible difficult task. This indirectly applies to us as well:
“I will be with you.” You will succeed because I am not asking you to do it alone. I am not really asking you to do it at all. I will be doing it for you. I want you to be My representative, My mouthpiece, My emissary and My voice.”[8]
As Christ driven entrepreneurs, mission and church leaders, and academics, we need to learn from leaders from Abraham to St. Paul. We often feel inadequate and it is a good start. We may discover God at work in the remotest and lowliest of places.
We may not be understood by business colleagues or appreciated by pastors, and it may take a long time to reach our goals. But we should stay true to our mission, but be ready to change plans.[9] And we know that God is with us, as we do business to the ends of the earth.
Mats Tunehag
[1] https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/shemot/who-am-i/
[2] Bishop Barron comments on the Magi / the three wise men in ‘Daily Gospel Reflection’ on Jan 7, 2024: “Once they saw the star, they moved, despite the length of the journey. Sometimes people know what God wants them to do, but they don’t act, either out of fear, laziness, or the influence of bad habits. The Magi teach us to move. When they spoke to Herod of the birth of the new King, he tried to use them to destroy the baby. When you walk the path that God has laid out for you, expect opposition.”
[3] “Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.” – St. Peter Chrysologus
[4] Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, Dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/12/05/contextual-theology-francis-orobator-246633
[5] Through these global conversations we have captured lessons learned from history as well as contemporary businesses around the globe. Our findings have been published in 35 reports and manifestos, and also in about 600 blogs. See https://bamglobal.org/reports/ and https://businessasmission.com/
[6] See Romans 1:5 and 15:15-20
[7] The Covid pandemic certainly taught us that there are disruptions, which force us to rethink our plans while staying true to our mission.
[8] https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/shemot/who-am-i/
[9] One of my life mottos is ‘Go with God and the flow”, i.e. on a mission, but open to change and God’s leading. Like Philip in Acts 8:26-40. Please note that I also plan, I am not against planning.